What this is about

As of release 1.x Tuscany SCA is distributed via one binary distribution that includes everything. Based on user feedback, choice of a smaller distribution packages is desireable. Tuscany community is in the process of addressing this requirement in 2.x.

Given that this work is in progress, Tuscany users have asked for a write-up that highlights module dependencies to enable them to build their own distribution which may have a lower or higher granularity than the pre-packaged binary distributions. Purpose of this page is to help users understand how to build their own tuscany SCA light distribution based on module dependency knowledge that is shared here.

Therefore:
This page is not about building Tuscany binary distributions to distribute
This page is about understanding dependencies so that users can build their own distribution

How to build your own distribution

Let's first understand the different categories of module types in Tuscany. This understanding will help us determine how to put the modules together to have a runnable and useful system.

Tuscany Modules Categorized

SCA programming Model: Assembly, Deployment, Management
SCA provides a programming model for Construction, Assembly, Deployment and Management of network of services. Modules under these catetories support the SCA programming model.

Tuscany Container
Modules in this category are specific to running SCA in a Tuscany environment.
Tuscany container also provides plug points for different host types, bindings, implementations, policies as well as deployment and management (contributions and domain handling).

Policy
Module in this category include support for enabling policies as well as policy types.

Binding
Modules in this category include various bindings that support different protocols. Typically Bindings are used with SCA programming model, Tuscany container and some component implementation types.

Implementation
Modules in this category include support for different component types. Basic SCA environment is needed to use any of these modules.

Host Environment
Modules in this category include support for different host environments, such as Tomcat, Jetty, etc.

Module Category Dependency

This section explains the dependencies amongst various categories. This information can be used to define the scope of modules needed to perform different tasks using Tuscany.

Tuscany Modules Break Down by Category

Note All modules that represent models are highlighted in green.

Relationship of Modules and OSGI Bundles

There are various ways and views for creating OSGI bundles. This can be discussed under "OSGI bundles" topic which can define how modules in a bundle are versioned together, start together and share class loaders. For the sake of understanding structure of modules, we can say that each module is an
OSGI bundle. These can be pulled together to create coarser grain bundles if needed.

Use case Examples for Tuscany usage

Use Tuscany as a runtime for SCA development

Example: Develop SCA applications in Tuscany based on POJOs
Basic Category of Modules Needed: SCA PM, Tuscany Container, implementation.java, SCA default binding

Adopt the programming model to create a component model for your own runtime

Example: Use SCA for configuration of and ESB engine
Basic Category of Modules Needed: SCA PM

Embed Tuscany within an application server

Example: Embed Tuscany with an application server such as Geronimo
Basic Category of Modules Needed: SCA PM, Pick the features that are needed to run on the given platform, binding.ejb, implemenation.java, etc. In some cases you need to use host SPIs to provide the platform specific behavior. For examples check out host_* modules.

Create tools for SCA

Example: Write a development tool for SCA
Basic Category of Modules Needed:_ SCA PM

Other scenarios

Please help add other interesting scenarios

How to create your own distribution

TBD
Link to the page describing how to create a POM.xml and use maven to generate distribution.
Talk about how maven figures out third party dependencies.